System of railway-car propulsion



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

M. MCMANUS. SYSTEM or. RAILWAY GAR PROPULSION.

Paten d Oct. 11,1887.

INVBNTOR ZL'W M WITNESSES (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M. MOMANUS.

SYSTEM OF RAILWAY OAR PROPULSION.

No. 371,344. Patent-ed Oct. 11, 1887.

WITNESSES INVENTOR 7% 77 BY M ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

M. MGMANUS.

SYSTEM OF RAILWAY GAR PROPULSION.

No. 371 344. Patenqed Oct. I

WITNES 1223mm 7%. w QQ ATTORNEYS.

N PETERS. Pholaidhugmphcr. Washinglon, u.c.

UNrTno STATES PATENT Urrrcs.

MICHAEL lllOMANUS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SYSTEM OF RAILWAY-CAR PROPULSION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,344, dated October 11, 1887.

Application filed January 28, 1887. Serial No. 225,793.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, MICHAEL McMANUs, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved System of Railway-Car Propulsion, of which the following is a full,- clear, and eXact description.

My invention relates to a system of propulsion for railway-cars-streetrailway cars particnlarlyand has for its object to provide a simple and efficient system of propelling the cars by motive power, and to provide for easily starting and stopping the cars, and for propulsion of the cars past intersections of car-tracks, and to provide for proper and economical lubrication of the car-motor.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts of the system of propulsion, all as hereinafter fully described and claimed. I

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a street-railway car as arranged for propulsion in accordance with my improved system. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional elevation thereof, taken on the line as a; of Fig. l, and drawn to a larger scale. Fig. 3is a detail side View of the driving gear wheel bearings and the appliances for oiling the gear-wheel journals. Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section on the line y y of Fig. 2, and as viewed in direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of a principal underground station,illustrating how the continuous line of gearing is to be driven from a main engine, and showing, also, a part of the car operated from the gearing, and showing, also, in dotted lines an arrangement of the gearing where the car-tracks cross or intersect each other; and Fig. 6 is a view of the power-transmitting gearing at an intersection of tracks, or transversely, and on the line 2 z of Fig. 5.

Each railway-car, A, to be propelled by my systen1,while running by its wheels at a on the track-rails B B, will be provided with suitable slideways or guides, O, in which the shank d of the grip device D is fitted for vertical movement, and the gripshank d passes through a longitudinally-ranging slot, e, at

(No model.)

the top of a subway-casing, E, in which the continuous train of gear-wheels F, which engage the grip, are arranged, as presently explained. The lower part or body, (1, of the grip D, which is fixed to its shank (1, extends lengthwise of and within the casing E for a distance sufficient to span or cover two or more of the gear-wheels F, and to the gripbody d is pivoted a series of pawls, G, which normally hang to engage the gear-wheels F by their lower ends, and their upper ends are adapted to stop against lugs 9, fixed to the grip-body, and whereby the pawls will swing freely in one direction, but will by contact with the lugs g resist pressure tending to swing them upward in the other direction.

The grip-shank d is connected to the carbody by a couple of toggle-levers, HH,which at their middle joint are pivoted to a rod, I, which ranges forward and is connected through the medium of a shaft, j, to the lower end of a lever, J, fulerumed on the car-platform in convenient reach of an attendant,who may operate the lever to lift the grip and carry its pawls G from the continuously-running gearwheels F when the car A is to stop, or to lower the grip to engage its pawls with the wheels F when the car is to be started. Above its fulerum-shaftj thelever Jhas connected to it one end of a rod, K, the other end of which is connected to the forward brake-beam, and whereby as the lever is thrown backward, as in dotted lines in Fig. l of the drawings, to lift the grip-pawls from the geanwhecls F, the brakeshoes is will be forced to the car-Wheels to assure quick stoppage of the ear, and as the lever is pushed forward again to lower the grip to the wheels F for starting the car the brake will be simultaneously taken off the carwheels.

The continuous line of intermeshiug gearwheels F are journaled in boxes f, forming parts of suitable light but strong frames L of metahwhich are supported by pedestals Z from the bottom of the subway-casing E, or it may be on an earth or concrete bed or foundation. Skeleton truss-braces Z may be used at or below the sides of the frames L, to which. frames the head portion of the subway-casing E may be stayed by rods Z (See Fig. 5.) It is obvious that as the train of gear-wheels F are in motion each wheel will turn in reverse direcmaining pawls, nothaving propelling effect on the car, will be swung idly backward on their pivots by the wheel or wheels F, whichareturning backward, and as will be understood from Fig. 1 of the drawings.

In a continuous line of gearing like the wheels F herein shown, the matter of properly and economically oiling or lubricating the bearings or journals is of great importance, and to accomplish this work satisfactorily I arrange a pipe or conduit, M, over the journals of the gear-wheels, and provide said pipe with necks or nipples m,which enter the bearingsf of the wheel'shafts and feed oil or other lubricant flowing through the pipe M from a suitable reservoir or tank, N, with which the pipe connects, to all the journal-bearings of the entire line of gear-wheels, a pipe M being arranged at each side of the line of gearwheels, and as most clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings. The necks m need not enter the bearings f, but may have contracted mouths opening over small oil-holes in the bearings; but a close fit of the necks into the bearings is preferred, as dust and dirt will then be excluded from the bearing-surfaces of projecting through slots of the guard-plate to engage the pawls G of the grip device D on the car. The guard-plate 0 also serves as a braceto prevent closure of the slot through which the grip-shank passes.

For operating the continuous line or train of gear-wheels F, I purpose using a main driving-engine, 1?, set up in an underground vault, R, beneath the street, and in this vault the steam-boilers will be set, as at S, and the stack T, giving draft to the boilers, may also be used to ventilate the vault and the subway E, and may also be connected by suitable pipes with the air or gas spaces of contiguous street-sewers, to ventilate them, if desired. The main shaft of the engine will preferably have a heavy toothed pinion, p, meshing with a gearwheel, 11 on a shaft, 10, carrying a pinion or gear-wheel, p, which engages one of the gearwheels F in the subway E, for giving motion to the entire line of car driving-wheels, and auxiliary or relay engines P (shown in Fig. 1) may be connected to the line of gear-wheelsF at difierent points along the line of railway, as the length of the line or its grades or other conditions or circumstances may require.

Where two tracks cross each other, the two gear-wheels F F of one line nearest the head of the subway-casing E of the crossing line of gear-wheels F (shown in dotted lines in Fig.

5and in edge view in Fig.6 of the drawings) will gear-wheelUin the line of wheels F, and these two separated gear-wheels F F will mesh with gear-wheels V V, journaled below them,

and intermeshing with eachotherto continue the motion of the line of gear-wheels F. This separation of the main line gearwheels F and F where the tracks cross allows inter-. section of the crossing tracks at the various angles required in operating connecting lines of railway, and the car-grips of both lines will not be in the least interfered with by the driv-' ing gear-wheels of the'other line.

I wish it to be understood that I do notlimit myself to the precise construction of the cargrip herein shown and described for propelling the cars by the action of the gear-wheels, as other grips may be employed on the cars within the scope of my invention.

In practice the body part d of the grip will be made in sections pivoted together vertically, and will run in the slot eof the subwaycasing as a guide to the grip and to facilitate turning curves.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is I 1. In a system of railway-car propulsion, the combination of aline of intermeshing gearwheels arranged in a subway and a grip projecting from the car into the casing and engaged by the intermeshing gear-wheels, substantially as herein shown and described.

2 In a system of railway-car propulsion, the combination, with a car, of a grip device held thereto, mechanism,substan tially as specitied, for adjusting the grip, and a line of intermeshing gear-wheels arranged to engage the grip for propelling the car, substantially as herein set forth. I

3. In a system of railway-car propulsion, the combination, with a car and a grip device held thereto, of a subway, as E, having a slot,

6, through which the grip passes, and aline of intermeshing geanwheels, as F, journaled in the subway and adapted to engage the grip,

substantially as shown and described.

4. In a system of railway-car propulsion, the combination, with a car, of a grip device held thereto and adapted for vertical adjustment, and provided with aseries of pawls, as G, pivoted to a support having detents, as g, substantially as specified, and a line of intermeshing gear-wheels adapted to engage the grip-pawls, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a system of railway-car propulsion, thecombination, with a car, of an adjustable ICC grip device held thereto, a line of intermeshing gear-wheels adapted to engage the grip for propelling the car, mechanism for adjusting the grip to and from the wheels, and connections from the grip-adjusting mechanism to the car brake, substantially as shown and described, whereby as the grip is disengaged from the driving gear-wheels the brake will be applied to the car-Wheels, and when the grip is engaged with the gear-wheels the brake will be taken off, as herein set forth.

6. In a system of railway-car propulsion, the combination, with a car, as A, of a vertically-adjustable grip device, as D, a line ofintermeshing gear-wheels, as F, toggle-levers H, a connecting-rod, Land connected lever J, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

7. In a system of railway-car propulsion, the combination, with a line of intermeshing gear-wheels, as F, jonrnaled in a subway and adapted to be engaged by a grip device carried by cars on surface tracks, of guard-plates, as O, in the subway, and provided with slots 0, for passage of the gear-wheel teeth, substantially as shown and described.

8. In a system of railwaycar propulsion wherein are employed continuously-running intersecting lines of driving gear-wheels F F, adapted for engagement by grips on the cars, substantially as specified, said line of gearwheels F separated at the intersection of the lines of wheels and connected by a gear-wheel, as U, and said line of gear-wheels F also separated at the intersection of the lines of wheels and connected by gear-wheels, as V, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

MICHAEL MOMANUS.

\Vitnesses:

W. B. KEEN, HARRY THOMPSON. 

